Darin Laughard Shares His Love

DARIN LAUGHARD

SHARES HIS LOVE OF CAR STEREOS & RACING

MY NAME IS DARIN LAUGHARD (PRONOUNCED LOCKARD). I HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED WITH ArDOT SINCE 1987, AND HAVE ALWAYS WORKED IN CONSTRUCTION FOR DISTRICT THREE RE OFFICE 32. I have been fortunate to work on many different jobs in our District while being here. In addition, I am known as “MacGyver” in our office because I can usually fix anything. TUNES AND CAR STEREOS

I have always been good in carpentry and found I liked working on my own cars. In addition, I have always liked music. As a result of those loves, I built a stereo system in my first car while in high school. The car’s biggest speakers were 6” x 9”s. After high school, I spent time living in Illinois and Michigan and when I returned to Arkansas in 1987, one of my buddies had placed four 15-inch subwoofers in his Toyota truck. And with that, he entered a car stereo contest. ENTERING THE WORLD OF COMPETITIONS I found the contest interesting and for me, it was on! I built a small system in my 1980 VW Rabbit and started competing myself at local shows. When I began competing, everyone I talked to about stereos thought it was all about how loud the stereo could get and to some point, it is. However, there is much more to it, including sound quality. A photo log of the things that judges cannot readily see has to be presented at competitions. They check to make sure the system is installed safely and will not cause the vehicle to catch fire or cause problems with the other components of the car. The scoring system at auto stereo competitions is based on two things: “install quality” and “sound quality.” Install points are awarded based on the quality of the installation. Does it keep with a theme? Does it look like the factory would have installed it? Does it match the vehicle? (continued on page 24)

At the Nationals, they have autocross, drag racing, road racing, stereo contests and a car show all in the four-day event. I was hooked!

Sound quality points are based on musical instruments sounding like the actual instrument, vocals sounding natural, and placement of the instruments or singers on the soundstage.

BUILDING STEREO SYSTEMS My buddy that had the Toyota truck later bought a Honda Civic and had a shop install four 15-inch subs. He never liked it much and decided he wanted eight 15s. He was going to have the same shop build the system. We discussed it and I told him that I thought we could modify what he had and build it ourselves. Sure enough, a month later, he was pounding the pavement with eight 15s in the back of his Civic hatchback.

I married my wife in 1989 and bought a Ford Ranger extended cab that same year. I built a stereo system in it and went to finals twice, but never placed where I wanted to in the competitions. In 1992, I bought a VW Jetta GLI that had three different systems in it over its lifetime. I placed 2nd through 5th at finals during the years that I had it in competitions. I stopped competing in 1999 due to family obligations but I kept the car until 2007 and then bought a 1996 Impala SS.

CARS AND COMPETITIONS During this time, I built three other car systems for other people and they wound up in competitions. In 2014, Ed and Sorina Rice had me redo their vehicles that I had previously built. Ed wound up winning the “Triple Crown” at Finals that year and his wife placed First in “Install Quality” in her class.

FROM AUTO STEREOS TO AUTOCROSS When I bought my Impala, I built the stereo system for my own pleasure, not to compete at stereo contests. I had plans to take the car to auto shows. My first Impala show was in Dallas at Texas Motor Speedway. Not only did they hold a car show, but also held road races. I knew right away that I wanted to do some racing, but my wife did not like the idea of something breaking and me not having a way home. Later that year, I drove to St. Louis, Missouri, to the “Impala Nationals.” At the Nationals, they have autocross*, drag racing, road racing, stereo contests and a car show all in the four-day event. I was hooked! In 2011, my son and I worked together to build him a 1995 Chevy Caprice wagon with a large stereo system. The car placed fifth overall at “Spring Break Nationals” in Daytona, Florida. One of the judges said that I must be on drugs because of the way I had wired my son’s car and the other two vehicles I built for Ed and Surina Rice. I had directed all of the wiring through

Numerous auto stereos Laughard has installed.

the channels in the A-pillar and across the top of the car to the trunk. I kept all of the wires out from under the carpet and from making bulges underneath it. Routing the wires also reduced the possibility of them being stepped on and broken. It takes longer to plan and do it this way because wires have to drop out of the bundle at different locations for the rear speakers and front speaker. My son and I both autocrossed our cars that year at Impalafest and were going to do it in Shreveport the next year with the Sport Car Club of America (SCCA). Unfortunately, he totaled the car before we got a chance.

THE GREEN HORNET I happened to see a sublime green Dodge Challenger at a dealership while returning from my Center for Training Transportation Professionals (CTTP) training in Fayetteville. It must have made an impression on me. I wound up buying it. I began taking it to car shows and taking it to SCCA autocross events in Louisiana. After they moved their location in Louisiana to Monroe, I started going to Arkansas region shows in Little Rock. I now compete in both regions. Arkansas holds their events at the Stuttgart Airport. My son is not able to drive due to injuries from his car accident, but he can still ride along with me. Prior to Covid-19 regulations, he could ride with other people as well. I have performed many modifications to the suspension on the Green Hornet to help me compete with the lighter cars usually found competing in autocross. I have also added pieces under the hood to help with the “car show” side of my hobby. Ironically, I have not done anything to the stereo. It came from the factory with two 10-inch subs in the trunk and that is fine for me. Over my years of building systems, I have installed stereos on motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, cars, trucks and even in some houses! They have ranged from small systems with no subs to very elaborate systems with eight subs that take months to complete. I have been asked why I have not opened a shop and the answer has always been the same. I enjoy what I am doing and can choose my customers. If I did it full time, I would probably end up hating it! 

*Autocross utilizes a mini-road course using traffic cones that are set up in a parking lot or airport runway. Competitors drive to get the lowest time without hitting any cones or going off course. Despite low overall speeds, it is one of the most intense, rapid-fire forms of motorsports one can enter. Competitors range from the casual driver who may use the same car that is driven daily to the hardcore driver who has a dedicated competition car.